Essential maintenance to ensure the safety and resilience of the Waikato’s state highways will continue this week.
Safely maintaining New Zealand’s state highways is considered vital at this time to help ensure the safe movement of essential goods like medical supplies to hospitals and food to supermarkets during New Zealand’s COVID-19 response.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Waikato System Manager Rob Campbell asks people to remember any contractors they might see out on our state highways are carrying out essential work to keep everyone safe.
“Be patient and respectful and look out for their safety and wellbeing. These people are stepping outside their bubbles to do vital work to keep us safe and we all owe them our thanks.”
Rock wall construction on SH25, in an area known locally as ‘The Narrows’, will get underway next week.
There are three separate slips in the area that have been getting steadily worse, and the construction of the rock wall is needed to stop the road from being undermined.
The road will be down to one lane for the duration of the project. People travelling between Thames and Coromandel should be prepared for 5 to 10 minute delays.
For more information, please see the traffic bulletin issued earlier this week:
Rock wall construction to start on SH25
A short section of SH1 near the Lichfield dairy factory in South Waikato will be resealed next week, which should take approximately one day to complete. This work was scheduled to be carried out this week but has been delayed due to weather.
There will be Stop/Go traffic management in place with a temporary speed limit of 30km/h during the resealing.
This site needs to be resealed to ensure the road surface is in the best possible condition for the wet, cold winter months.
Work to improve uneven road surface, skid resistance and drainage are happening on a stretch of SH3 approximately 7km south of Te Kūiti. The expected completion is around the end of the month.
There will be Stop/Go traffic management in place with a temporary speed limit of 30km/h.
This work needs to be done to ensure the road is in the best possible condition for the wet, cold winter months.
Contractors will be working from Tuesday to Friday on the Waikato Expressway between Huntly and Pōkeno. This work involves repairing damaged sections of guardrail and central median barrier, and line marking. The line marking work is weather dependant and some work may be done at night.
In most cases traffic management will be a lane closure with a reduced speed limit. These sites need to be repaired to maintain safety on SH1.
Watercutting crews will be working in a number of locations across the region during the week. This is primarily SH1 around Taupō and SH5 Napier/Taupō Road, SH3 from Mōkau north to Te Kūiti, and SH27 north of Tatuanui and south of Matamata.
There will be Stop/Go traffic management in place with a temporary speed limit of 30km/h during the works.
Watercutting removes excess bitumen and ensures the road surface is safe ahead of winter.
Critical routine maintenance will continue to happen on state highways across the region next week. This might include road surfacing repairs, drainage and vegetation works, line marking, rumble strips and signage installation or replacement.
When these works are being carried out, the traffic management can range from Stop/Go to shoulder closures. These are essential to the safe operation and resilience of the transport system.
Mr Campbell encourages people to stay safe and stay home, and only travel to access or provide essential services or supplies.
“Stay safe, stay home and save lives. If you are on the roads, take care, watch out for walkers and cyclists, drive to the conditions and obey the speed limits.”
While Waka Kotahi does its best to provide up-to-date information, given the current operating environment under the COVID-19 alert system Level 4 some road works may change at short notice, and people are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi’s Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)) for real time information about their journeys.
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